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At Grand Turk
Pleasure craft off the Grand Turk Cruise Terminal. Carnival Sunshine slipped into Grand Turk early in the morning, the last of our ports of call for this cruise.
At Grand Turk, we had booked Carnival's "Historical Homes, Town & Museum Tour" shore excursion. The tour promised to include Cockburn Town and the Grand Turk Lighthouse. The guide met us and other travelers in the cruise terminal area and soon we were on the minibus. The same shore excursion is probably run for all the cruise lines calling at Grand Turk, as our guide said he would be repeating it in the afternoon for the arriving Crown Princess.
The guide/driver was very good at pointing out everything to see and filling us in on Turks & Caicos culture. The cruise terminal is built on the site of a former US Air Force base (also the source of the nearby Grand Turk airport). Nothing goes to waste and so base buildings have been repurposed as government offices. Speaking of nothing going to waste, as we hit the main road I was surprised by the sight of a repurposed Giant Foods semitrailer. (Giant Foods is a supermarket chain in the Washington, DC, area. We shop there all the time!)
Carnival Sunshine at Grand Turk
Carnival Sunshine at Grand Turk. Destiny Class. Launched in 1995, 102,853 gt. Refit in 2013.
DSC_0064 The first stop was at the Friendship 7 monument. Grand Turk is proud of the fact that John Glenn and the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule splashed down just east of the island in 1962. The retrieved capsule was brought to the island and flown back to the US from the Air Force base that is now the island's airport.
Shortly thereafter we were in Cockburn Town, the capital of the Turks & Caicos since 1766. An old settlement, it is small, but has many colonial houses and buildings. One was reminded that the Caribbean islands were settled and places of local industry long before they became tourist destinations.
Riding down Front Street, I thought of Caribbean island in the TV series Death in Paradise. Cockburn Town felt like a real Saint-Marie! There were lots of colonial houses and buildings lining Front Street and Duke Street. All of them had historical plaques out front. They are more rustic in condition and muted in color than the old houses Willemstad or Bermuda, so perhaps they are closer to the original item. Many are in use as inns or bed & breakfasts. There are no large hotels or resorts on the
Holy Cross Catholic Church
Holy Cross Catholic Church. Airport & Osborne Roads.
DSC_0093p1 island. Some of the houses are B&Bs. Duke Street is residential while Front Street is commercial.
We stopped at St. Mary's Anglican Church for a look inside. This church dates from 1899. A memorial in front of the church commemorates islanders who lost their lives in World Wars I and II. A reminder of how global these conflicts were. Further along the street we saw the burned-out Victoria Public Library of Grand Turk. The fire had occurred earlier in the month and the 1872 library building was a total loss.
A visit to the Turks & Caicos National Museum was most interesting. The Turks and Caicos National Museum is quite a surprise. It is located in a historic house in Cockburn Town. From the introductory video on, the museum covers a a lot of ground. Visitors are first shown a video about the Turks & Caicos Islands and then there are exhibits on the island and its history and industry. Tourism is a newcomer. An exhibit shows item recovered from the Molasses Reef Wreck, a 16th century ship.
The next destination was the 1852 metal lighthouse at the northern end of the island. En route, we passed
Friendship 7 Monument
Friendship 7 Monument. Grand Turk is proud of the fact that John Glenn and the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule splashed down just east of the island in 1962. The retrieved capsule was brought to the island and flown back to the US from the Air Force base that is now the island's airport.
DSC_0088p1 the Turks & Caicos Community College. The campus and its buildings are the repurposed US Navy base, closed in 1980. Upon arriving at the lighthouse, we were greeted by a group of the omnipresent wild donkeys. The wild donkeys of Grand Turk reminded me of the wild ponies of Assateague Island in Maryland and Virginia. The donkeys descend from donkeys that were let go when the salt industry closed. Grand Turk Lighthouse dates to 1852. Located at the northern tip of the island, the lighthouse was installed to protect against the many shipwrecks that had occurred on the reefs of the Turks Island Passage. The cast iron lighthouse was prefabricated in England and assembled on Grand Turk.. It represents an early example of cast iron prefabrication.
The major industry on Grand Turk from its founding to the mid-20th century was salt mining. Seawater was admitted to several salt ponds, called "salinas". Windmills pumped the saltwater from one level of the salina to another, evaporation increasing the salinity at each stage. Finally, the salt was recovered manually in salt pans. Grand Turk salt was in demand and exported everywhere. Even George Washington ordered it! The lucrative industry was known as
Friendship 7 Monument
Friendship 7 Monument. Grand Turk is proud of the fact that John Glenn and the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule splashed down just east of the island in 1962. The retrieved capsule was brought to the island and flown back to the US from the Air Force base that is now the island's airport.
DSC_0083p1 "White Gold". There is a White Gold museum of the salt industry, but it was closed the day we were here. However, we did have a good overview of one of the dormant salinas that still exist on the island.
At the end of the tour, we returned to the Cruise Centre. There was plenty of time before we were due back on the ship for souvenir shopping and to observe the Turk's Head Cacti growing here. Grand Turk derives its name from the Turk's Head Cactus. The red topknot reminded early explorers of a Turkish fez. We opted for lunch ashore at Margaritaville at the Cruise Centre. Like Cheeseburger in Paradise at home, Margaritaville is a Jimmy Buffet inspired enterprise. In fact, a Cheeseburger in Paradise is on the menu here. But I did not order that. There is a large open air pool in the restaurant where patrons can enjoy an aquatic eating and drinking experience. There was a party like atmosphere on ground level. Being of a certain age, I suppose, we were shown a table on the more sedate second floor. 😊 I ordered the Fried Grouper Sandwich. It was very good, a full sized
Duke Street, Cockburn Town
Duke Street, Cockburn Town. Duke Street is residential while Front Street is commercial.
DSC_0097 grouper filet in a burger bun with remoulade sauce. In fact, the fish stuck out of both ends of the bun! The sandwich was accompanied by a serving of French fries. Susan ordered the Lava Lava Shrimp appetizer as her main. I would agree with her that there were not as many shrimp in the dish as was suggested in the menu description and photo. While she was disappointed, I really liked my grouper sandwich and base my rating on that.
As we left, the party was still going on in the pool. The DJ was organizing Carnival Sunshine vs. Crown Princess competitions! High on the decks of the ship, one could look out over most of Grand Turk. It is a small island. The airport runway runs the width of the Grand Turk. Carnival Sunshine sailed from Grand Turk at 4:00 p.m.
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